Myanmar junta forces burn entire village in Magway Region to the ground

An entire village was torched by regime forces in Magway Region’s Sidoktaya Township late last week following clashes with resistance fighters based in the area, according to local sources. The incident occurred on Sunday, when a column of around 150 junta troops attacked Lone Gyi, a village located some 25 miles north of the town of Sidoktaya near the border with Chin State. Earlier in the day, fighting broke out in the area between Lone Gyi and Letpankyin, a village about three miles to the south on the opposite side of the Mone Creek, according to an officer of the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF). “There was a four-hour-long clash, but we had to retreat due to the difference in firepower, after which they torched the village,” said the PDF officer. “A total of 103 structures were lost in the fire. They didn’t even spare the monastery or the school, which was outside the village. So they clearly wanted to burn everything down,” he added. The column responsible for the attack on Lone Gyi consisted mostly of troops stationed in Salin, a town about 35 miles east of Sidoktaya, as well as pro-junta militia members based in Letpankyin, according to the PDF officer. Resistance forces who returned to Lone Gyi on Tuesday found that the village of around 110 households had been completely razed by fire. Its roughly 450 residents are currently sheltering in an area under the control of the National Unity Government. “They’re safe now, but they’ve lost everything, including all of their stored rice. So they need food, as well as other basic necessities,” said a representative of a local group that assists civilians displaced by conflict. Lone Gyi seen after the junta arson attack of February 25 (Supplied) Northern Sadoktaya is a hilly region dominated by anti-junta forces. It borders Chin State’s Kanpetlet Township and Rakhine State’s Minbya Township to the west and Magway Region’s Saw Township to the north. The area was previously attacked in July of last year and remains a target of regime forces in the area. “The junta column is still in Letpankyin. They came here with the intention of driving us out, so we are now doing our best to prepare our defences,” said the PDF officer. On Monday, the Arakan Army seized control of the military’s last base in Minbya, giving the Rakhine nationalist armed group full control of the township after nearly two months of fighting. According to figures released by Data for Myanmar in December, the regime and its allies have destroyed 78,737 homes since the coup in February 2021. The greatest losses were reported in Sagaing Region, with Magway Region coming in second.

Myanmar junta forces burn entire village in Magway Region to the ground

Almost all of the more than 100 structures in the village of Lone Gyi in Sidoktaya Township were destroyed following clashes on Sunday

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